With Star Wars: the Force Awakens hitting theaters in just a matter of weeks, an international press tour is sure to bring an overload of Star Wars news. So Star Wars Bits will probably be a daily feature for the next couple weeks, and we’ll try to divide the Star Wars news into Force Awakens Bits for those who want to know more about the upcoming movie and Star Wars Bits which will focus on everything else in the galaxy far far away. It’s also impossible for us to cover every single interview, nor would we want to. So we’re going to try to focus on the best and most interesting. In today’s Force Awakens Bits:

Captain Phasma was originally written as a man.

Learn why Leia didn’t become a Jedi after Episode VI.

JJ Abrams teases Force Awakens easter eggs.

Watch a Disney XD clip featuring a new outfit for Rey, Leia, and a look at Maz Kanata.

Learn about the new tech features contained in the First Order Stormtrooper armor.

How the Resistance differs from the Rebellion.

The story of the R2 Builder who was hired to work on Episode 7 and the extreme secrecy that led to him keeping from telling his family about the job.

More talk about The Force Awakens‘ box office prospects.

Preview a new book featuring stories of new Force Awakens alien characters.

All that and more in today’s Force Awakens bits. Hit the jump to Hyperspace for more.

Captain Phasma Was Originally Written As a Male Role

We know that Gwendoline Christie‘s character Captain Phasma is based on a design originally created for Kylo Ren, but now we have confirmation that the role was originally written for a male actor. Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan told Vulture:

We were just casting about for all the characters. I mean, we were making them up at that moment, as costuming and everything else was happening! It’s not like there was a finished script sitting around for months.” …“Everything was happening simultaneously. When the idea came up to make Phasma female, it was instantaneous: Everyone just said, ‘Yes. That’s great.’

I had heard that the casting directors were told the role was gender neutral, but this is probably the role that Benedict Cumberbatch was rumored for.

Why Leia Didn’t Become a Jedi After Episode VI

At the Force Awakens junket, IGN asked J.J. Abrams why didn’t Leia become a Jedi after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. You can watch his response above. Abrams explains its a question that him and Kasdan talked about quite a bit, and it was decided that it was a choice that Leia made. She chose to be a General rather than a Jedi.

How the Resistance Differs From the Rebellion

Over at Io9, Oscar Issac explains how the Resistance is different from the Rebellion from the original trilogy:

Just think about the words, one is to rebel against, so it’s an offensive action. Resisting is on the defensive. So I think the big difference is that [The Resistance] is even more cornered. … There’s less of them” and “It’s slightly less organized.

New Disney XD Clip

Watch a new Disney XD clip which features among other things: a new outfit for Rey, Leia, and a look at Maz Kanata.